


Most Terrible Poverty

by Rina_san28



Series: Remade [9]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Grief/Mourning, Past Character Death, but he can be better, resurrection AU, yes revali is an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 17:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15539328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina_san28/pseuds/Rina_san28
Summary: Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty. - Mother TeresaOne hundred years have passed, Revali's back, and everything is different.





	Most Terrible Poverty

**Author's Note:**

> This is set a little less than a week after Re-embodiment. Revali is twenty years old, not counting his time trapped in Vah Medoh. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Revali bit back a wince as Saki poked and prodded at him, checking the few scrapes that he’d gained in his wild tumble through Vah Medoh. She had banned him from flying until they were healed, most likely due to a mixture of placement and his admittedly poor behavior towards her and her husband throughout the first day or so of his miraculous return to being. Distantly, he thought that his sister would have been disappointed in him, but he shook it away. As the Calamity’s attack had approached, almost as if he’d subconsciously known, he had pushed her and her family away, spending more and more time alone at either the Flight Range or on his Divine Beast.

 

 _“I have better things to do,”_ he’d shouted at her one day, when Malin had turned up uninvited to the Range with her daughter in tow, _“than entertain a nosy armorer who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer!”_ She’d looked at him for a moment, her face sad, and then quietly shepherded Molly away.

 

They never came back.

 

He was startled from his reverie by Saki’s nod of approval. “You can fly,” she said, “but take frequent breaks if traveling long-distance for the next two weeks. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

“Not that you should be going anywhere too far away,” Teba said, never once looking up from the puzzle he was putting together with Tulin. “Link and Zelda promised to return once their business in Gerudo Town was complete. They should be here within the next few days.”

 

Revali bit back his instinctive response. Teba, he’d learned fairly quickly, held the Hylian swordsman in high esteem and would not suffer the Champion’s complaints. Not that Revali could truly complain much about him anymore; after all, Link had proved his worth in the end, if the princess’s presence was any indication.

 

“Very well,” he said instead. “I suppose I should at least see what they want from me.” That was apparently still the wrong thing to say, as his hosts exchanged a look of exasperation.

 

“They don’t want anything from you except your good health, Revali,” Teba said sternly. “You are their friend, whether you like it or not. Maybe if you stopped being such an-” he paused, glancing at his son, “-idiot for five minutes, you would realize that.”

 

“I don’t have friends,” Revali snapped. He stood up, nodding at Saki. “Your aid was appreciated. If you’ll excuse me.” With that, he exited the family’s dwelling and headed up the winding wooden pathway, intent on speaking to the Elder as soon as possible.

 

Silent and unnoticed, Teba followed.

 

\-----

 

“Ah! Champion Revali!” Elder Kaneli greeted. “How are you faring?”

 

“Quite well, thank you,” Revali said stiffly. “I…had a few questions. Much has changed, so I’m sure you’ll excuse a gap in my otherwise considerable knowledge.”

 

The Elder laughed as if he’d said something extremely amusing. “Very well, my boy, ask away.”

 

Revali fought away the urge to ruffle his feathers. That, he’d discovered, would get him nowhere. “Back before the Calamity, my sister and her family lived in Tabantha Village as armorers. Would you happen to know if I have any living relatives?”

 

“Tabantha Village, you say?” Any trace of joy on the Elder’s face had slipped under a blank mask. “I came into my role long after that event, and, as you said, much has changed. I believe the best course of action would be to visit the village yourself.”

 

“Of course,” Revali said, mildly puzzled by the non-answer. “I will depart in the morning.” He turned to leave, but was back by the Elder.

 

“One request,” the old owl said, some unknown emotion flickering over his face. “Please, take the warrior Teba with you. These lands are still dangerous, even though our main threat has been defeated.”

 

Revali simply nodded, then stepped out into the night. Instead of returning to Teba’s dwelling, he walked only to the first landing before flying off to Medoh. While he could understand the Elder’s concern, it was unfounded. There wasn’t a monster – besides the Windblight, which was an outlier and certainly should not count – the greatest warrior of the Rito had been unable to beat. He would need no assistance, particularly on such a simple mission.

 

\-----

 

He took off from the Divine Beast at first light, his quiver and bow loaned to him by Harth strapped to his back. However, he’d barely passed the great spire of Rito Village when he heard wings approaching from behind.

 

“Teba,” he sighed as the warrior flew up beside him. “How did you find out?”

 

“I followed you,” Teba said bluntly. “I wouldn’t argue if I were you. Saki might decide that you need more time to rest.”

 

Revali hummed in annoyance, but didn’t comment any further. The silence, of course, did not last.

 

“I received word from the princess,” Teba said. “She and Link will be arriving next week. They apologize for the delay, but they needed to retrieve some supplies from their home.”

 

Revali said nothing.

 

“Tulin is thrilled. I’m sure you remember his…disappointment at missing them. I think he’s mainly upset that he was unable to meet Link’s wife, after he told so many stories about her.”

 

 _That_ caused the blue Rito to nearly fall out of the air. “His _wife?”_

 

“If she’s not his wife, then she will be soon,” Teba replied. “The way he looked at her – I know those sorts of looks well. I see them on my own face every day.”

 

“Why him, of all people?” Revali sputtered as they banked up the Hebra Plunge. “He has no skills of note, he doesn’t speak, he won’t even step up to a challenge-”

 

“Link freed this world from Calamity Ganon,” Teba said calmly, “which I would say was quite a challenge. He speaks if trust is earned, but even then, he is fully able to communicate. Besides first-hand evidence of his interactions with our people, I’ve read your journal, Revali, and the challenge issued by you which you are referring to was not offered in any way approaching friendly.”

 

“Excuse me!” Revali squawked, but the other Rito was not finished.

 

“I spoke with Link about you personally, once he freed Vah Medoh. He described you as flatteringly as he could, but all I was able to take away is that you were a rude and prideful isolationist, pushing away anyone who attempted to become close to you,” he said. “Surely that couldn’t have been true, Saki and I thought. Imagine our dismay when you proved to be exactly that.”

 

Revali gaped at him. “I had not other choice!” he said, but once again Teba cut him off.

 

“There is always a choice,” he said softly. He paused in speaking for a moment, staring out at the horizon. “I was like you, once. My mother died when I was very young, and my father followed her a year before I reached my majority. Alone and angry, I shut out all who attempted to help me, even Saki and Kass, my best friends since childhood. I grieved and fumed, blaming myself and losing all ability to relate to others until I finally reached my breaking point.”

 

“…What was it?” Revali asked, oddly interested in the story.

 

Teba smiled grimly at him. “My father was shot down by a pack of Lizalfos on his way to the Flight Range. I went after them on foot, but was ambushed. If it weren’t for my friends following me, I would have died. Whether it was luck or divine intervention, I don’t know, but I learned my lesson.”

 

They finally broke over the cliffs, and Revali began searching the ground for the colorful cloth that marked the Tabantha Village, making it stick out from the snow. To his growing concern, none appeared.

 

“Teba,” he said, “where’s the village?”

 

Instead of answering, Teba banked to the left, towards a tall, glowing tower. Revali followed, still scanning the snow below. Suddenly, the white Rito began a slow, spiraling descent.

 

“Teba?” Revali followed him, but when he caught sight of their destination, his stomach dropped.  _No, no, please no-_ He tucked his wings close to his sides and plummeted to the ground, ignoring his companion’s shout of alarm as he landed ungracefully in the snow.

 

Surrounding him were the shells of buildings, caved in and torn apart, their colorful paint long gone. Some structures were burned and blackened, others merely decayed, but one thing was certain – any residents were long dead.

 

Revali stumbled down the road to the remnants of the house he knew so well. The sign which had once sat on the roof was sticking out of the snow at an odd angle, half of it missing. He’d helped Candor place that sign while little Molly was still in the egg, he remembered, and then they’d gone inside, gathered around the warm fire with his parents and laughed until he’d fallen asleep leaning into his mother’s side.

 

He collapsed against the ruined wall, looking around in horror. That corner – Molly had slept there, in the tiny hammock he’d made for her. Her tiny toy bow, the one he’d made when she was just a tiny hatchling, had hung on those hooks, just out of reach of her little red wings. _“A safety precaution,”_ Malin had said once, _“just in case she decides to torture the poor squirrels.”_

 

The most horrifying sight, though, was the Guardian shell, sitting crooked and rusting in a snow pile among the remains of Malin’s kitchen. Revali remembered well the destructive power of that technology – he’d been on the receiving end of it once, a long time ago. He approached it with halting steps, staring directly into its dead eye with absolute hatred.

 

“We won, you bastard,” he hissed. “We won, and you lost, and all you did was for nothing! All you did-” _Crack!_ Revali looked down slowly, lifting his foot to see the source of the sound.

 

A tiny bow, unstrung and broken, resting at the feet of the Guardian.

 

“Much was lost in the weeks after the Calamity rose,” Teba said. He drew closer to Revali, but stopped just out of reach. “Guardians roamed the hills, killing any who got too close. The already-increasing monster populations skyrocketed. The Blood Moon rose ever week for three months, rendering any attempts at rescue or reclamation useless. Our people retreated to Rito Village, but it was nearly a half a year before any made the trip to Tabantha. By then, it was already too late.”

 

Revali swallowed, bending down to gently scoop up the bow. “Would it have mattered?” he asked. “Going sooner?”

 

Teba shook his head. “No. The warriors who went estimated that the Guardian had arrived within the very first days of the Calamity. There was nothing we could have done.” Slowly, as if afraid of startling him, Teba came to stand at Revali’s side. “We remember them and their story, always. There is a plaque with their names hung in the Flight Range. It was treated as a memorial for years, in your honor. They figured it the most fitting place.”

 

The wind whistled through the emptiness as snow began to fall. The silence hurt more than any wound, piercing where no weapon could ever reach and ripping him open, exposing all of his long-buried vulnerabilities. He stared sightlessly at the broken wood he held, barely aware of his companion’s concerned gaze.

 

“I am alone,” he croaked. “I ignored them. I sent them away. I denied my only niece the approval she craved, and shattered any relationship I had left with my sister. I am alone!”

 

“No,” Teba said instantly, turning him around to meet his eyes. “You are the last of your family, but you are never alone. You have the princess, you have the Hero, you have the other Champions, all of whom are going through the exact same thing as you.” He paused. “And, if you’ll allow it, you have my family as well. I swear, we will help you in any way we can.”

 

Revali sucked in a breath, then dropped the remains of the tiny bow into his quiver. “…I’m sorry for the stress I’ve placed on you and your wife. My behavior was uncalled for.”

 

“You’re forgiven,” Teba said with the smallest hint of a smile. “Come on. Let’s go home before the snow gets too heavy.”

 

\------

 

The other Rito gave the pair curious looks as they walked slowly up to Teba’s dwelling. The silence between them, for the first time ever, was comfortable, even as they entered the small room. Saki looked up at Revali, a knowing expression on her face, and gestured behind her at a newly-hung hammock done in a vibrant mix of his and their family colors.

 

Revali started at a small tug on his tunic. “Psst, Mister Revali!” He looked down to see little Tulin, a bright smile on his face. “Mama says you’re our family now and you’re gonna stay with us forever and ever! Does that mean I can call you Uncle?”

 

And finally, for the first time in over a century, Revali wept.

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this doesn’t at all mean that Revali is a perfect example of humanity just like that. He’s been isolating himself and carefully cultivating his know-it-all-asshole persona for five years, not counting any time spent as a ghost in Van Medoh. On top of that, he had other people in his village constantly telling him how good his flying was, how fantastic he was with a bow, etcetera, and building up the massive ego we know. I’ve been dancing for sixteen years, professionally for five, and I’ve seen dozens of promising dancers become horrible people because of praise like that. The combined effect can take ages to break. Revali, however, has just gotten a major kick in the feathers to show him the consequences of his actions, so he has some incentive to get better. Plus, he’s got Teba and Saki to guide him, as well as Tulin watching his every move, so our favorite asshole is going to be just fine. 
> 
> Teba was very talkative in this, but he's in Dad-Mode. He'll be back to his normal self once Revali stops being his normal self. 
> 
> I'm rina-san28 on Tumblr!


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